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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Daniel Hurst Foreign affairs and defence correspondent

SHOCKING: Australia s defence force faces once in a generation shake up but to what purpose | Mind Blowing Facts

Australian Defence Force Vessel Cape Naturaliste as seen from above travelling at speed through the ocean
Australian Defence Vessel Cape Naturaliste. Strategist Paul Dibb has warned of a ‘high-intensity conflict from a country starting with C and ending with A but isn’t Cambodia or Canada or Cuba’. Photograph: POIS Craig Walton/Department of Defence

As the Australian government considers the biggest defence shake-up in nearly four decades, it faces a blunt warning from a key strategist.

Australia’s security outlook has worsened substantially, warns the former defence official Paul Dibb, who carried out the landmark 1985-86 defence review for the then Hawke government. He believes the structure of the Australian defence force needs a significant overhaul to match the times.

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